Chronic Pain in the News
New Treatments May Soon Improve the Lives of Chronic Pain Sufferers
Medical science is often discovering new treatment breakthroughs for a host of diseases like cancer, diabetes, and neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s; however, it seems that we seldom hear of breakthroughs in the treatment of chronic pain, so today, I decided to do a quick DuckDuckGo search to see if any new treatments are in the offing. The good news is that there have been several promising and exciting new treatments and technologies to treat chronic pain in the news recently. Following are brief summaries of three that I found interesting.
Scientists Decode Brain Waves Linked to Chronic Pain
A new way to objectively measure chronic pain could lead to new treatments for a common condition that can be debilitating, Chronic Pain.
This story by Margaret Osborne for Smithsonian Magazine covers new research and technology for measuring brain waves for people in pain. Here’s a snippet:
“Now, a team of scientists has discovered a new way to objectively measure chronic pain by reading brain signals from volunteers. They say this research could eventually be used to create personalized therapies for those with severe pain, such as electrodes that can intercept the brain’s pain signals to give a patient relief, writes Nicoletta Lanese for Live Science. The team published their findings Monday in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
To measure chronic pain, the researchers implanted electrodes in the brains of four volunteers who were experiencing pain after an amputation (phantom limb pain) or a stroke. As the participants went about their usual days, the devices recorded activity in two brain regions where researchers think pain responses occur: the anterior cingulate cortex and the orbitofrontal cortex.
Several times a day for up to six months, the patients rated their pain levels on standard scales and then pressed a button that would cause the electrode implants to record their brain signals for 30 seconds. The research team then built machine learning models that could find patterns in the data to predict each patient’s pain level based on the signals in their brain.”
Read more at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-decode-brain-waves-linked-to-chronic-pain-180982240/
Researchers modify drug to enter cells and treat pain
A novel approach to treating pain is being studied at NYU’s Department of Dentistry using nanoparticle drug delivery. Here is a small look into their research.
“Altering the chemical properties of an anti-nausea drug enables it to enter an interior compartment of the cell and provide long-lasting pain relief, according to a new study led by researchers at NYU College of Dentistry's Pain Research Center.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), illustrates how pain signaling occurs inside cells rather than at the surface, highlighting the need for drugs that can reach receptors within cells.
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a large family of proteins that regulate many processes in the body and are the target of one-third of clinically used drugs. A subset of these receptors plays an important role in pain, including the neurokinin-1 (NK1) receptor, which is activated by a pain-transmitting neuropeptide called substance P.
For more on this story, please see: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-drug-cells-pain.html
Study offers fresh hope for people living with chronic back pain
“Long-term sufferers of chronic back pain experienced dramatic reductions in pain and related disability that remained at their one-year follow-up after taking part in a new treatment tested by Curtin-Macquarie-Monash University research.
Published today in the journal The Lancet, the research found large clinically significant improvements in the intensity of pain and pain-related disability among almost 500 people who had been seeking help for their pain for an average of four years before trialing the new treatment.
The treatment, which delivered a health care and work productivity saving of more than $5,000 per person, took a whole-person approach by also helping people to make lifestyle changes aimed at improving their social and emotional health.
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The treatment, called Cognitive Functional Therapy (CFT), offered personalized and intensive coaching sessions that helped people make sense of their pain, focused on retraining them to move in ways that reduced their pain, and built confidence in movements and activities they had been afraid of or were avoiding.”
Read more at: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-fresh-people-chronic-pain.html
My hope, like all chronic pain sufferers, is that one of the treatments profiled here, or another one in the works in some far-off laboratory, will prove effective and allow treatments like spine surgery and opioid therapy to one day become distant memories. Until next week…
All the Best!
Franklin